Videotex is a generic term used to describe computerized two-way information delivery systems designed for simple, mass-market use which provide access to computer-based information via a telecommunications link and an information display, usually a modified home television set. In Canada videotex has become almost synonymous with the name Telidon, which has been described as a high level, efficient communication code for the creation, storage, and transmission of graphics and text. Telidon has been used by both academics and corporations in experiments, field trials, and applications for formal and nonformal education purposes. Flexible enough for use by people of all ages, Telidon has been applied in computer assisted instruction courses, business and information libraries, information databases, supplements to science and museum educational exhibits, distance education and teleconferencing programs, special education programs, TVOntario educational sequences, and many others. Some of the issues surrounding the use of Telidon/videotex are: (1) the need for more research, development, and evaluation in distance education, special education, and in the broader field of computers in education; (2) the need for support materials and resources; (3) the need for local access to page creation facilities (and inexpensive equipment) and the potentially prohibitive cost of the Telidon/videotex system; and (4) the effects of Telidon/videotex on privacy, employment, industrial development, technological change, and other 'social impact' questions. (30 references) (DB)

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